Total Drama and the Polar Express (A Christmas Special)
by WinLik3aBosS
Summary: Noah doesn't believe that Santa is real. He keeps thinking that someone is pretending to be him. But what happens when a mysterious train arrives at his house and offers to take him to the north pole? Will he accept? Read to find out!
1. Chapter 1: The Train and Hot Chocolate

**Hey guys! This is gonna be a little special story based on my third favorite character, Noah and the movie The Polar Express! (As you may have guessed from the title). In this story, Noah is a 10 year old boy who goes on an adventure with other young kids to see the North Pole and meet Santa Clause himself! I hope to update ASAP for this story, but you know me. I probably won't. Anyway, enjoy!**

**I do not own Total Drama, nor do I own the Polar Express or its plot. I am merely substituting my favorite characters in their place.**

Snow slowly fell from the midnight blue sky and landed on the already fluffy snow that covered the ground like icing on a cake. It was the night of Christmas Eve in the town Grand Rapids, and everyone was sound asleep. Well, almost everyone.

***Narrator***

"On Christmas Eve, many years ago…

I lay quietly in my bed.

I did not rustle the sheets.

I breathed slowly, and silently.

I was listening for a sound I was afraid I'd never hear.

The ringing bells, of Santa's sleigh."

***Narrator***

Noah listened intently, trying his hardest to make sure he could hear everything, even the slightest noise. He was, indeed listening for Santa's sleigh bells. For a while now, he had become skeptical if the big man had even existed. Often asking his parents questions, he decided to put the case to rest. But this Christmas Eve, he was keen on finding the truth. Out of boredom, Noah opened his eyes and sat up in his bed. Out the window, snowflakes were still raining down upon his window, giving the night a majestic look.

Slowly, to avoid any noise and wake up his parents, Noah climbed out of his bed and walked over to the window. Accidentally, he rested his hands on the heater, and he let out a small gasp as he retracted his hands away from the hot surface. Noah looked back towards the window, and wiped it off so he could see clearly. Outside, he could see the snowman that he and his little sister Lucy had made together the day before. All of the other houses along his street had their lights out, showing no signs of life.

Just then, Noah heard a noise. A small ringing noise. 'Can it be? Santa?' Noah wondered as he crept his way across the wooden floor, emitting small creaking noises as he did so. He only reached a few steps before his foot accidentally hit a baseball he had left around the room. The baseball rolled away from him, ricocheted off of a nearby toy truck, and hit a metal plate that was lying against the radiator. The second the baseball made contact, a small but loud enough noise rang throughout his room. Noah froze immediately.

He turned around to see what had made the noise. After seeing that it was only the tin plate, and that it was quiet now, Noah proceeded to move towards the door of his room. He opened his door quietly, and made his way to the stairwell. He climbed a few steps down until he could just make out the Christmas tree his family had set up. Beneath its needle-filled branches, was the barren floor. Devoid of any presents whatsoever. He then looked towards the fireplace, where the stockings were empty as well. 'Had the fat man decided to skip on his house this year? Or was he truly not real?' Noah wondered. Finally, his eyes rested on the platter of cookies and milk his sister had put out for Santa. They were untouched. Noah smirked, 'I thought so'.

While Noah was looking at the cookies, he barely noticed the ringing noise of the bells again. He turned towards the doorway leading to another room and saw a rather large looking shadow approaching from around the corner. Could this be? Could this really be Santa? Noah remained where he was, determined to find out the truth. Just then, the shadow spoke,

"All right. All right, Lucy, you had your water." The shadow then divided into a much thinner form, and a smaller form. Noah instantly realized that the shadow was just his father giving his little sister a piggy back ride. Noah cursed himself for being so naïve, and began running back upstairs. He couldn't allow himself to be seen by his parents.

"Now let's get you upstairs, and into bed." Noah heard his father say from downstairs.

"But…but…but…but I have to…" Lucy stuttered. Noah reached his room, and slowly closed the door behind him. Once shut, he peered through the keyhole to see what was going on from the other side. "He said Santa would have to fly faster than the speed of light to get to everyone's house in one night. And to hold everyone's presents, his sled would have to be bigger than an ocean liner!" His sister continued. Noah knew she was talking about him. Noah had told her his skeptical feelings on Santa's existence, and she was quick to protest against him, proclaiming that Santa was indeed, a real person.

"Your brother said that? He was just kidding you. He knows there's a Santa." His father said. Noah cringed. He was hoping his sister wouldn't press the issue.

"He said he wasn't sure. He wasn't sure if Santa was for real." Lucy continued.

"Of course Santa is real. He's as real as Christmas itself." Noah's father assured Lucy. Just then, Noah saw his mother's blue dress appear from the other side of the keyhole.

"But he won't come until you're sound asleep, young lady." He heard his mother say. Noah watched as she gave Lucy a kiss on the head and said, "Sweet dreams." Before she and Noah's father began to leave the room.

"Santa will be here before you know it. So go to sleep." His father said before turning out the lights. As he closed the door, he turned his back towards the keyhole Noah was peering through. There, hanging on the side of his father's pants, Noah spotted a red and white Santa hat, with a little bell attached to the top. Seeing this confirmed that Noah was right when he assumed that it _was_ his father with Lucy. He knew it! Still, he wanted to know if Santa really was real.

Noah backed away from the keyhole, and walked over to his dresser. He pulled out the bottom drawer, and used it as a stepladder to reach the top drawer. (He only did this because of his short stature.) Noah opened the top drawer, and pulled out some papers that were inside. On the top of the pile of papers, was a red picture frame over a picture of a child pulling the beard off a fake Santa. He flipped past it and behind it was a newspaper. The headlines read: "SANTAS ON STRIKE". Upon seeing this, Noah smirked and nodded. 'I knew it! So Santa really isn't real…' Noah thought as he flipped to the last piece of paper in his hands. The last paper was a picture of a boy with a shocked face, holding a Santa suit with fake beard. On the bottom, it read, "The Discovery". Unsatisfied with the evidence he had, Noah wanted to make sure that he was right when he doubted Santa's existence. Grabbing his flashlight, Noah moved over to his bookstand filled with an assortment of books Noah loved to read. He found one of the encyclopedia's in his set that was labeled with the letters, N-O. Holding the flashlight with his cheek and shoulder, Noah looked through the encyclopedia until he found the right page. Moving down the page, he found what he was looking for.

The North Pole.

Reading the definition, he read the words, "Devoid of Life" aloud quietly to himself. Suddenly, Noah heard footsteps coming near his room. Shutting the encyclopedia, he turned off his flashlight, and dove into his bed. Quick as a flash, he covered himself with his sheets and blanket, making it seem as though he was sound asleep. Almost as soon as he was settled in his bed, Noah heard his parents peek through his door.

"He's gotta be asleep by now." His mother said. "He used to stay awake all night waiting for Santa." The couple approached his bed.

"I think those days are just about over…" His father replied.

"That would be sad if it were true." Noah heard his mother say. They were practically right next to him now.

"Yeah, an end to the magic." He heard his father say. Upon hearing the word magic, Noah opened his eyes. 'Magic? What magic…' He wondered. Maybe there really was a Santa and he was just overthinking things? No, no! There couldn't be! It was impossible.

"Merry Christmas sweetheart." Noah's mother bent down to give him a kiss on the cheek just as he closed his eyes. After she kissed him, Noah heard his parents begin to leave the room. Looking at the metal plate leaning against his radiator, he could see them looking at him in the doorway.

"See? He's out like a light. An express train couldn't wake him up now." With his father's last words, they left him in his room, alone with his thoughts. Noah turned in his bed uncomfortably, staring at the ceiling. There, he could see the shadow of the thick snow that continued to sprinkle upon his house. The only sound in the room was his clock that ticked away as time flew by. Noah stared at it for a moment before attempting to go back to sleep. Maybe he would figure it out next year…

Silence.

Noah was truly trying to fall asleep, but the silence told him to open his eyes. There was nothing. No noise at all. Noah looked at his alarm clock that should be ticking the time away. 'Odd…it's not ticking…' Noah wondered as he pulled it off the shelf. He pulled it up to his ear and listened intently, but no noise came from it.

Just then, the metal plate that was leaning next to his radiator started to vibrate, creating a small metal clang as it rattled against the radiator. He then turned his attention to the P-38 Lightning airplane model he had hanging from his ceiling. It rocked to and fro. Soon enough, his entire room was shaking slightly, as if a small earthquake was occurring. But nobody woke up. Surely this was a dream?

Pencils rolled around and off his desk, pictures rocked back and forth on the walls, and the lamp nearly fell of his dresser. As if on cue, his radiator spurted out a jet of steam, with a noise almost similar to the sound of a train whistle.

A bright light suddenly filled his room, originating from the window. Noah hopped out of his bed, and felt his room vibrating. Even in his room, Noah could hear what sounded like a train passing through, its metal wheels grinding on the tracks as it came to a halt. 'What the heck is happening?' he wondered. Even though Noah was not usually the curious type, Noah quickly ran over to his bedpost, grabbed his blue robe, and threw it on over his yellow pajamas. His quick movements, however, tore a small hole in the robe's right pocket as he pulled it off the post. Noah slipped on his shoes, and rand downstairs and threw open the front door, totally forgetting about his parents and sister. Outside, was a large cloud of mist surrounding the entire street, from as far as he could see. Noah stepped down his front steps, dumbfounded at the sight before him, and approached the mist cautiously.

When the mist dissipated, Noah was shocked to see a gigantic black locomotive sitting in front of his house, in the middle of the street. 'How on this earth did this thing get in front of my house? There aren't even any tracks!' Noah wondered as he stared at the train. Its passenger cars were mainly greenish blue, with red outlining the windows. The locomotive itself was entirely black, and on the side of the coal car, it read:

THE POLAR EXPRESS

"All aboooooaaarrdd." A voice shouted from behind him. Noah spun around and squinted to see who had said that.

"All aboooooaaarrdd?" The voice came again, in a more questioning manner. Noah decided that he couldn't make out who it was from this distance, and moved towards the shadowy figure. As he neared, he began to make out who this person was. It was a conductor, wearing a blue cap, matched by a blue suit. He was wearing glasses, and looked around in his mid-50s. He had one hand in his pocket, holding a stopwatch, and his other hand held a lantern in front of him. Noah approached the man cautiously.

"Well? You coming?" The man asked expectantly. Noah stared at him for a moment, not knowing what to say.

"To where?" He asked. He at least wanted to know where he was going before stepping on.

"Why, to the North Pole of course! THIS IS THE POLAR EXPRESS!" The man practically shouted. Noah stared at him dubiously.

"The North Pole?" He said flatly as though he didn't believe him. The man looked rather agitated at Noah's response and said,

"I see." Before rolling his head. He then asked Noah to hold the lantern for him. Noah held onto the lantern as the conductor produced a clipboard. He showed it to Noah and pointed out his name. "Is this you?" He asked. Noah nodded. 'Who is this guy? And how does he know my name?' Noah wondered as the man continued,

"It says here, no picture with the department store Santa this year, no LETTER to Santa this year, and you made your sister put out the milk and cookies for Santa. Sounds to me like this is your crucial year, if I were you, I would think about climbing on board." The man said, leaning towards Noah. Noah frowned,

"Aside from getting into vehicles from strangers, what do you mean, crucial year?" Noah asked. The conductor was about to respond when he checked his watch.

"Oooh! Look at the time! C'mon, c'mon, c'mon kid I've got a schedule to keep." He said, obviously in a rush. Noah took two steps back and shook his head.

"Um…no thanks. I'm good." He said somewhat timidly. Was he making the right choice here? What if this really was his crucial moment, and he was messing it up! (Whatever his crucial moment was anyway). The conductor frowned before saying,

"Suit yourself." With that, he began climbing on board the train. Noah could hear the locomotive start to drive away, and he stood there, debating on whether or not he should climb aboard. With a mighty blow of the whistle, the train started moving at a slow pace. As Noah watched the train begin to leave, he heard one of the windows of the passenger cars open up.

"Hey! Hey you! C'mon! Hurry!" He heard a feminine voice call. Noah looked up and saw a girl with dark brown hair calling for him to climb aboard the train. 'Should I go? What about mom and dad?' Noah continued to ponder what he should do. "Hurry! C'mon we're going to the North Pole!" The girl shouted again. The train was picking up speed. If he didn't go now, he would miss the train. Noah twiddled his thumbs, before he realized, 'This would prove if Santa was real…wouldn't it?' he just had to know. With a sudden burst of energy, Noah ran through the snow towards the stairwell of the nearest passenger car. He reached his hands out towards the metal railing, as the train continued to pick up speed. With a stretch of his arm, he grabbed onto the railing and pulled himself onto the train.

Surprised in even himself, Noah watched as his neighborhood began to fly by as the train was now almost at full speed. He had climbed aboard the Polar Express, and was now on his way to the North Pole himself. Noah was quite proud of himself for gathering the courage to climb aboard. Then, Noah heard someone clearing their throat behind him. Noah turned and saw the conductor open a green door with a porthole that leads to the inside of the passenger car. He gestured for Noah to go in. Noah climbed up the rest of the stairs on the train car, and stepped inside the passenger car, away from the cold.

Inside was total pandemonium. Children around his age were roughhousing and playing around the car. The conductor closed the door behind Noah. Noah slowly walked through the isle as the children chanted some sort of song. He looked in each row of seats until he found some seats with nobody in it. He happily took his seat next to the window, and made himself comfortable. As he let his eyes wander the room, they landed on the girl that shouted for him to climb aboard the train. She was sitting across from him, and was actually staring right at him. She was wearing some slippers and pink pajamas. Noah stared back at her for a moment, and saw her smile. He then turned back towards the seat in front of him and decided to look somewhere else for a little while. But, from the corner of his eye, he could see the girl still staring at him. 'Does she want something?' he wondered. Before he could ask her, a boy jumped up from the seat in front of him. The boy was also wearing yellow pajamas, and had auburn hair and glasses.

"Hey. Hey you. Yeah you. Do you know what kind of train this is?" He asked and straightened his glasses.

"Excuse me. Are you talking to me?" Noah asked.

"Of course I'm talking to you, Gosh! I said, do you know what kind of train this is? Do you?" The boy persisted. Noah was about to respond with some snarky remark when he heard the girl from across the aisle speak up,

"Of course. It's a magic train." She said before staring back at Noah. "We're going to the north pole." She said, almost as if she was bragging it to him.

"Yeah, I know it's a magic train. Actually, it's a Baldwin 2-8-4 S3-Class steam locomotive built in 1931 at the Baldwin Locomotive Works. It weighs, 456,100 pounds and…" Noah tuned him out. Listening to this boy was starting to give him a headache. Instead, he turned back to the girl from across the aisle and leaned over to her.

"Are we really going to the north pole?" he asked skeptically. The girl couldn't help herself from smiling as she nodded. Obviously, she was extremely excited to be seeing the North pole. Noah himself couldn't explain how 'happy' he was to see it too. All he wanted was to know if Santa was real or not. That was all.

"I'm Noah." He said. "And you are…?" he asked looking at her.

"Courtney. Hi." She said smiling at him. Before they could continue with their conversation, the annoying boy from before spoke up,

"Hey look guys! Herpolsheimer's! Herpolsheimer's!" He said again excitedly. All of the children cheered and rushed over to one side of the train to look at the magnificent store. The store bestowed many toys of all kinds before the children, practically trying to suck them in to buy things.

"Wow look at all of those presents! I wish I could have that many!" The annoying boy said staring at the store in awe.

"It's so Christmassy and cozy and beautiful!" Courtney said from beside Noah. Noah, however, was not paying attention to her, as he was staring at a moving Santa from behind the glass walls. Could it be him? Could this be the real Santa delivering presents? Noah stared at the figure moving back and forth. As he stared, he noticed a gear from behind the figure's back, and realized it was just an animatronic. Puckering his lips, Noah shook his head in disappointment.

"Tickets. Tickets please." The conductor spoke from the front of the aisle. He clipped his hole puncher rapidly before checking some children's tickets. After checking the other children, he moved over to where Noah was sitting. "Ticket please." He said expectantly. Noah was confused. He didn't know he had to have a ticket. Nobody gave him one. What was he supposed to do, pull one out of thin air? Noah shook his head, worrying that the conductor would be mad. Instead, he asked, "Try your pocket." Noah put his hand in his right pocket, but his fingers almost went right through, because of the whole he had created earlier. "Try your other pocket." The conductor looked slightly annoyed by now, so Noah quickly checked his other pocket.

To his upmost surprise, he felt something glossy and flat in his pocket. Slowly, he retracted his hand and pulled out a huge golden ticket from his pocket. On it, it read: Polar Express, Round Trip in elegant golden letters. 'I didn't have that in there before! I know it!' Noah thought, completely confused. Noah handed the ticket to the conductor who accepted it gratefully.

"Thank you sir." He said before clipping the ticket with his hole puncher. As he did so, many small pieces of plastic flew in the air as he punched away. One piece landed on his lip, which he spat out with some disgust.

"Thank you sir." He said as he finished punching the holes in. He then turned his attention to the annoying boy, and walked away. Noah stared at his ticked and read the letters, B and E on either side of his ticket. 'What the heck is this supposed to mean?' Noah wondered.

"Boy that guy sure likes to show off his ticket punch. Look what that wise guy punched on my ticket. L-E, What the heck does that mean?" The boy asked slightly irritating Noah. Suddenly, the loudspeakers in the train came to life with the voice of the conductor.

"Next stop, 11344 Edbrooke." The annoying boy turned away from Noah and looked rather excited. He returned to his seat and stared out the window,

"We're heading for the other side of the tracks! Awesome!" he said. Noah stared out his window and saw a house pull up from the side of the train. It looked poor, abandoned, and in bad shape. Noah was surprised they even stopped next to it. Both Noah and the annoying boy opened up their windows to see what was happening. Outside, the conductor was speaking to a little boy, a little shorter than Noah, with chestnut brown hair, wearing tan pajamas and black boots.

"Well you coming?" The conductor asked him. The annoying boy turned to Noah and waved his hand.

"Eh, it's just another pickup. That's weird; I thought you were supposed to be the last one." Noah heard him say. Meanwhile, the conductor continued to speak with the boy outside.

"Why to the North Pole of course, THIS IS THE POLAR EXPRESS!" he shouted. Noah watched as the boy shook his head and stepped back, obviously declining the conductor's offer. "Suit yourself." The conductor said, much alike he did with Noah. The conductor climbed aboard the train, and signaled to the engineers to start the train. Just like he had signaled them to do, the train started moving onwards to the North Pole. Noah watched as his car passed the boy, and he waved to him. For some reason, he pitied the boy. He looked sad for some unknown reason.

Just then, the boy started running after the train, with his hand outstretched. Noah turned to the others,

"Um, hey that kid wants to get on, so are we gonna stop the train…or…" Noah said looking at the others. Courtney joined him at the window after they the rest of them shrugged; he turned back towards the boy who was starting to fall behind. "C'mon dude, you gotta run faster than that." He said, trying to sound encouraging (instead it came out as more of a taunt). The boy acknowledged Noah's chant, but lost his footing. He tripped into the snow with a poof and landed on his face. Courtney turned towards the others.

"We've got to stop the train!" She said worriedly.

"I don't know how to-"

"Pull the emergency brake!" The annoying boy shouted pointing towards a red handle on the wall of the train car. Noah ran over to it and pulled down upon it with all his might.

The train came to a sudden halt, sending sparks flying as its wheels grinded on the iron tracks beneath it. Inside the train car, everyone fell down because of the sudden halt. Noah fell on his back, Courtney fell down upon her rear, and the annoying boy fell down on his face, knocking off his glasses. When the train came to a complete stop, Noah saw the boy with brown hair climb aboard. He could see his face through the porthole in the green door at the end of the passenger car. Instead of joining them however, the boy merely turned in the opposite direction and entered the caboose. Noah turned towards Courtney, to see her reaction, but all he got in return was a shrug.

"Who in the blazes applied that emergency brake?!" The conductor yelled as he flung open the door to their car.

"He did!" The annoying boy said pointing towards Noah. Noah rolled his eyes at the boy, 'Typical' he thought. His mood changed from annoyed to slightly nervous, though, when the conductor pointed towards him and said,

"You." Noah stood silent as the man approached him. "In case you didn't know, that cord is for emergency purposes only. And in case you weren't aware, tonight is Christmas Eve," The conductor said as he waved to the engineers through the window to start the train going again. "And," he continued, "In case you hadn't noticed, this train is on a very tight schedule. Now young man, Christmas may not be important to some people (he was referring to Noah), but it is important to the rest of us!"

"Uh…" Noah said, unable to gather his words.

"He was just trying to stop the train so that kid could get on!" Courtney said from the side, pointing to the car with the kid in it. The conductor looked through the porthole then back at Courtney for a moment before turning back to Noah.

"I see…young man. Is that what happened?" Noah shook his head 'yes' furiously and looked at Courtney as if saying 'thank you'. "Well…let me remind you, we are on a very tight schedule, and I've never been late before, and I am certainly not going to be late tonight! Now everybody, take your seats, please!" He instructed. The children did as they were told. "Thank you." He said calmly. He then took the speaker to the intercom and spoke, "Your attention, please. Are there any Polar Express passengers in need of refreshment?" he asked. Just as soon as he finished, everyone's hands (including Noah's) rose in the air. "I thought so." He said smiling, before he opened the green door.

What happened next was all a breeze to Noah, but it was quite enjoyable. As soon as he had opened the door, around 8 waiters all sporting mustaches pranced out. They quickly turned some of the rows of seats around so that they were facing each other like a dinner table. Then, they each took a white towel and draped it over the air. Noah could hardly believe his eyes when it suddenly landed on an invisible table. Just as he thought it couldn't get any weirder, it did. They started singing.

"Hot, Hot!"

"Oh we got it!"

"Hot, hot!"

"Hey we got it!"

"Hot, hot!"

"Say we got it!"

"Hot chocolate!"

Noah watched as a pair of chefs emerged and started sending out cups and dishes to ever table for every kid as they passed down the aisle.

"Hot, hot!"  
>"Oh, we got it!"<p>

"Hot, hot!"

"So we got it!"

"Hot, hot!"

"Yo we got it!"

"Hot chocolate!"

"Here we've only got one rule!"

"Never ever let it cool!"

"Keep it cooking in the pot!"

"Then you got,"  
>"Hot chocolate!"<p>

This time, the pair of chefs returned, with what looked like a metal tub of hot chocolate. They began squirting it out to all of the children, each squirt landing in its designated cup with unbelievable accuracy.

"Hot, hot!"

"Oh, we got it!"

"Hot, hot!"

"Hey, we got it!"

"Hot, hot!"

"Say, we got it!"

"Hot chocolate!"

Noah had already finished his cup when they started coming back around, giving people even more to drink. Noah couldn't help himself. It was just too good. Meanwhile, Courtney had saved a cup underneath her seat, and was starting her second cup. She too loved the sweet beverage.

"Hot, hot!"  
>"Oh, we got it!"<p>

"Hot, hot!"

"So we got it!"

"Hot, hot!"

"Yo we got it!"

"Hot chocolate!"

"Here we've only got one rule!"

"Never ever let it cool!"

"Keep it cooking in the pot!"

"Then you got,"  
>"Hot chocolate!"<p>

The conductor, who was singing along, slid down the aisle while he was singing. He then stood back up and began to backtrack along with the waiters and chefs. As they were doing this, the waiters collected everyone's cups and tossed them to the chefs, who stacked them neatly.

"Hot, hot!"

"Hey we got it!"

"Hot, hot!"

"Oh we got it!"

"Hot, hot!"

"Yeah we got it!"

"Hot, hot!"

"Yeah we got it!"

And almost as soon as it had started, the dancing waiters and chefs had rearranged the seats to their normal positions and had cleaned up all of the dishes. Then, they disappeared behind the green door, along with the conductor, leaving the satisfied children alone in the passenger car.

**Ok so there's the first chapter. I really hope this is ok, like you know; I'm not plagiarizing or something like that. I'm just subbing my favorite characters for those of this movie. Anyway, it's obviously mostly to script, but I hope you like it. Btw, even though I am a supporter of Nourtney, it will NOT be happening in this fic. This is because they are ten, lol, so yeah. It's practically off the table. The closest they'll get is friends. Anyway, see you tomorrow! Adios!**


	2. Chapter 2: The Hobo and the Hog

**Ok here's the second chapter! More of that mysterious boy in the last car in this chapter! And some more action!**

**I do not own Total Drama nor do I own the Polar Express**

"Did you know that Montezuma, the king of the Aztecs would actually drink 50 quarts of hot chocolate every day? They say it was as thick as mud and colored red because he liked to put chili pepper in it instead of sugar! How awesome is that!" The annoying boy said as he wiped the last bit of hot chocolate from his lips. Noah was in a state of bliss, and couldn't even hear what the boy was saying. The cup of hot chocolate had certainly hit the spot. He was staring up at the ceiling in a daze until he saw Courtney get up from her seat with the cup of hot chocolate she saved. Noah turned his head towards her,

"Hey. Where're you going with that?" He asked. She turned towards him and raised her eyebrows.

"Well we can't just leave that boy back there without any of this awesome hot chocolate? It's for him." She said and approached the green door leading to the caboose. Noah sat up in his seat as he watched Courtney approach the door.

"Hey, um, I don't think we're allowed to leave our seats Courtney." Noah said. From behind him, he heard the annoying boy speak up,

"He's correct. Leaving your seat is a violation of railroad safety regulations for a kid to cross moving cars without a grown-up." He pointed out. As much as he hated it, the boy was siding with him on this matter, and he was slightly content that he had someone to back him up in the matter. Courtney turned to Noah and grinned,

"I think I'll be ok." She said and turned back to the green door. Noah spoke up,

"Are you sure?" he said. Her crossing between cars like that could be dangerous, and he didn't want to be left all alone with the kid with glasses. He would much rather prefer if she waited till at least the conductor would guide her across. In a most unusual coincidence, the conductor appeared behind Courtney and put his hands on his hips as he looked down on her. 'Where did this guy come from?' Noah wondered, dumbfounded.

"What about this lad in the back. Did he receive any refreshment?" He asked. Both Noah and Courtney shook their heads 'no'. The conductor stood silent for a moment before throwing his hand sup in the air, "Well, let's take some to him, by all means." He said and guided Courtney to the green door. Noah shook his head, confused at this man's mood swings. He stood up from his seat and watched as he opened the green door. "Watch your step now, watch your step." He said as he closed the door behind him, shutting Noah away from sight of Courtney. As Noah was going to return to his seat, he noticed a golden shimmer from the side of his eyes. He turned around and saw a golden ticket, much like his own, sitting on Courtney's seat.

"Oh great. She forgot her ticket." Noah said grumpily. Why did he have to do everything? Noah inspected the ticket closer. He noticed that it had no hole punches in it, and sighed heavily, "And it hasn't even been punched. Why am I not surprised." He said rolling his eyes. Although, even though he had just met this girl, he felt that he was obliged to give her the ticket. They were friends after all. So, after deciding what to do, Noah turned towards the green door. As he approached it, he heard the annoying boy speak up from behind him,

"Hey what're you doing? You're going to get us in trouble! Gosh!" The boy said as Noah grabbed hold of the door handle. Ignoring the boy's pleas, Noah thrust open the green door and was met with the sting of the cold air as the snow and wind whipped his face. Squinting his eyes, he held on to the sides of the doorway, one hand holding the ticket. As he looked beneath him, he could see the buffers and chains holding the train together with the caboose. Noah then looked ahead of him and saw Courtney and the conductor handing the cup of hot chocolate to the boy with brown hair. While Noah was staring, he didn't notice the golden ticket in his hand start to loosen from his grasp. With one final gust of wind, the golden ticket flew right out of his hands, and flapped around in the wind.

Noah swung his arms around in the air, in an attempt to grab the ticket. Unfortunately, he was unable to get a hold of it. 'Come on!' he thought as he watched the ticket start to fly towards the front of the passenger car, the train's gust of wind carrying it all the way. Staring at the ticket through the windows of the train car, Noah ran down the aisle of the train car, following the ticket's every move. Noah's heart stopped as he saw it get caught on one of the train car's last windows. 'Ok Noah don't blow it. You can grab it!' he thought as he eyed the ticket cautiously. Noah then placed his hands on the window frame, and gently pulled down. It seemed as though fate wasn't on his side today, (was it ever?) however, and the ticket flew out just as soon as he pulled the window down. Noah's heart sank as he watched as his friends ticket flew into oblivion, never to be seen again.

After watching the horrible act before him, Noah made his way back to his seat, a lump in his throat, and his stomach in knots. How could he have been so careless! Noah kicked a nearby seat out of frustration and sat in his seat sadly. He loathed the time where Courtney would return and find out that it was his entire fault for losing her ticket. 'Why didn't I just wait till she came back? That would've been a good idea!' Noah thought as he put his head in his hands. For a few minutes, all he did was sit there, on his seat, listening to the annoying boy go on and on about how he knew so much about the Aztecs. Noah groaned as the boy got into a debate with another boy on the train. 'Maybe Courtney coming back wouldn't be so bad.' Noah thought as the two boys quarreled. Thankfully, Courtney and the conductor returned soon after. Courtney took her seat quietly, and the conductor walked down the aisle. 'Maybe they would forget?' Noah thought hopefully.

"Young lady, forgive me." The conductor had turned back towards Courtney. 'Shoot.' Noah thought sadly. "I believe I neglected to punch your ticket. May I?" The conductor continued. Courtney nodded and searched around her seat. Noah watched as she shuffled around her seat, searching for the ticket that Noah had accidentally lost. After a moment, she seemed to have gave up and turned towards the conductor with a worried face,

"I left my ticket right here on the seat…and now it's gone." She said quietly. 'Great, now I feel bad' Noah thought as he listened to their conversation. A little more of this and he couldn't take it anymore.

"You mean…you have lost your ticket?" The conductor asked raising an eyebrow. Noah couldn't take the guilt anymore. He stood up from his seat and spoke up,

"She didn't lose her ticket…I did. I was trying to return it to you…but the wind blew it out of my hand…" Noah confessed. Courtney looked slightly angry.

"What?" She said raising her voice, not to a yell, but a more sincere questioning, like she was interrogating him. The conductor looked annoyed, and stared at the ceiling as he let out a sigh. Noah felt everyone staring at him, and felt ashamed. 'Well, might as well give her mine. I don't need it now…' Noah thought as he reached into his own pocket. After pulling it out, he handed it to her,

"Here, you can have mine. He already punched it." Noah said. Courtney reached for the ticket but was interrupted by the conductor's hand, who snatched it out of Noah's grasp. The conductor gasped and shook his head before speaking,

"These tickets…are not transferable!" he said in an informative voice. With that, he handed the ticket back to Noah, who returned it to his pocket. The conductor then turned back towards Courtney, "Young lady, you'll just have to come with me." He said offering her a hand out of the seat.

"Where are we going?" Courtney asked.

"All questions will be answered in due time." He said and led her to the green door again. Noah watched as he pulled her along. Courtney turned back towards him, with a slightly angered expression, but also a worried expression. 'Great job Noah, you did such a good job at returning her ticket, delivery boy.' Noah said and hit himself in the head with the palm of his hand. The conductor closed the green door behind him, and Noah saw him shake his head in disappointment. Just then, the annoying boy spoke up again,

"You know what's going to happen now don't you? He's gonna throw her off the train! He's probably going to throw her off the rear platform. Standard procedure, that way she won't get sucked under the wheels of the train." The boy spoke. Noah had had enough of this boy,

"Ok, who are you again? And who asked you?" He said with an annoyed look. The boy smiled and bowed,

"Harold Yellowstone at your service." He said. Noah rolled his eyes and turned back towards the matter at hand. He ran up to the green door and peered through the porthole. There, he could see the conductor leading Courtney through the caboose towards the end of the car. 'Was he really going to throw her off? How could he!'

"You know, they may slow the train down a little bit, but they're never gonna stop it. Yeah, she's pretty much a goner." Harold said, straightening his glasses. Noah rolled his eyes again. Then, he had an epiphany. 'Stop it?' He repeated in his mind, 'Stop it!' he thought of a plan.

"Look at that Harold you're nonstop talking actually came to use. I'll just _stop _the train again!" Noah said approaching the emergency brake again.

"What? No! Please don't do that again!" Harold said, cowering in his seat. The other children heard Noah's plan, and also pleaded with him to stop. Noah ignored them, and was about to pull the handle, when he noticed something in an air vent next to the emergency brake. Fluttering inside the small vent, he noticed a golden piece of paper. Noah quickly grabbed the end of the paper, and pulled it out. Could it be? Courtney's ticket? But how? Noah ignored the improbability that it was indeed Courtney's ticket, and formulated a plan. He _would _return it to her, and this time, he would hold on to the ticket more securely. Noah threw open the green door, and returned to the familiar scene where he had lost the ticket the first time.

Unlike last time, Noah put the ticket between his teeth, and clamped down, ensuring that it would not escape his grasp this time. With a surge of confidence, Noah leapt across the train cars. He landed successfully on the caboose's side, and grabbed hold of the nearby railing. He threw open the green door and entered the caboose. Unlike the passenger car, it looked more elegant and did not have any booths for passengers to sit in. It had seats lining against the wall, and lamps that accompanied each one. Noah practically slid down the train car's glossy floor and grabbed hold of the door leading to the balcony at the end of the train. Along with the other two doors, he opened the door and ran out onto the balcony.

Outside, all he could see was endless snow and track that was disappearing as the train continued on its journey. Noah searched but could not see any sign of Courtney or the conductor. Where had they gone? Frantically, he looked around and saw the boy sitting alone on one of the chairs. He had completely forgotten about him as he ran past him. Noah ran up to him and asked,

"Where'd they go?" The boy gave no response, and looked up at him confused. "C'mon tell me! What happened to them! You have to tell me she's in grave danger, I have her ticket!" The boy still gave no response. With a humph, Noah was about to leave when he saw a shadow of a man and a smaller figure on the top of the train from outside, plastered on the rocky wall. Apparently, the lantern's light that the conductor was holding was providing a shadow in front of him. 'On top! Of course!' Noah ran back to the balcony and grabbed hold of the cold metal latter that led to the top of the train. Noah's black hair flew about in the wind as the cold air slammed into his face. Snow pelted him as he began to climb the latter. He was indeed scared, for not only falling off, but also the rocky ledge that was next to the train was getting awfully close. Close enough to knock him off! Squinting his eyes, and clutching the ticket in his hands, Noah scaled to the top of the caboose, which was covered in icy snow. Once on top, he could see the conductor's silhouette and the golden glow coming from the lantern he was holding.

"Hey!" Noah shouted trying to get their attention. They still kept walking away from him, so Noah shouted again, "HEY! I FOUND YOUR TICKET! COURTNEY WAIT!" Still, they kept going. Eventually, the light from the lantern disappeared. Noah continued shouting the same thing, over and over again, but this time he pursued them from atop the caboose. The wind was even stronger up here, and he slowly trudged through the icy snow that was on top of the train. His face was a light shade of pink from the exposure to the cold. As Noah pressed forward, the light reappeared, but not in the shape of a lantern. More of the shape of a campfire. Noah approached the light cautiously, and soon found out that it was indeed a campfire. Complete with a grungy looking Hobo. Noah slowly walked over to the man, who was playing some sort of instrument that emitted wheezy sort of notes. The man stopped playing when Noah was close enough, and stared up at him with a smirk,

"Can I help you?" he asked, still with that stupid smirk on his face. Noah stared at him and raised an eyebrow.

"What are you doing up here?" He asked. The man snickered.

"Gettin' a free ride that's what. What're you doing up here?" he asked.

"I'm looking for a girl." He said. Noah was about to describe Courtney to him when the man laughed aloud, holding his sides as he did.

"Hahaha! Ain't we all?" Noah rolled his eyes at the man's joke.

"I just want to return her ticket." He said holding out Courtney's ticket. The man's laughter cut short as his eyes widened,

"Well! Lookie Lookie! What do we have here? This is an official, authentic, genuine ticket to ride! You better keep this in a safe place buddy." The hobo said, handing Noah the ticket back after he inspected it. Noah nodded and was about to put it in his pocket when the hobo spoke up again, "If I was you, I keep all my valuables right here!" The hobo said taking off his rugged shoe and holding it in front of Noah. Noah nearly gagged, but did as the man said. He took off his slipper, and slid the ticket inside.

"Not that I need those things anyway. Tickets, hah! I ride for free. I hop on this rattler whenever I feels like it! I own this train, yeah. Oh yeah, I'm the king of this train. In fact, I am the king of the NORTH POLE" The hobo declared, waving his hands in the air in a triumphant pose. Noah looked at the man, with an indifferent expression on his face.

"Uh huh, I'm sure you are." Noah said sarcastically. The man grinned and gestured for Noah to sit down.

"Oh, where are my manners, sit, sit!" Noah took a seat on a nearby crate. Thankfully, the hobo's fire was warm, and kept him from freezing to death on top of the train. "Hey, would you like some joe? Nice, hot, refreshment to take a load of, eh?" The man said, pouring a black looking liquid into a tin cup. Noah eyed the beverage curiously as the hobo handed it to him. Looking inside it, it looked like just a plain cup of hot water. Noah shrugged and took a sip, and realized it tasted like dishwater. But that wasn't all. As he was taking a sip, the man took a dirty sock out of the pot that he had poured Noah's cup of 'joe' out of. Noah spat out the beverage and coughed violently. 'What the heck! That's gross!' Noah thought, coughing the last of the disgusting beverage up.

"There. Bless you." He said as he laid the dirty sock on a stick over the fire. Noah thought for a moment about what the man had said before about being the King of the North Pole.

"So, what about Santa. I thought he was the king of the North Pole, or is he just a figure head?" Noah asked. The hobo stared at him for a moment before grinning again,

"You mean, you mean this guy?" The hobo said pulling out a Santa hat, and doing a horrible imitation of Santa Clause. After a series of 'Hohoho's', the hobo's expression turned serious as he leaned towards Noah. "Lemme ask you somethin' kid. What's your persuasion on the big man? Huh?" he asked. Noah thought for a moment before responding.

"Well, like every child on this earth, I would love to believe in a jolly fat man that delivers toys to millions of children. Heck, if I knew he was real, I would ask him for anything I wanted. However, there's plenty of evidence to prove he _doesn't _exist. I want to believe, but-" Noah said, before getting cut off by the hobo,

"But! You don't want to be bamboozled! You don't want to be led down the primrose path! You don't want to be conned, or duped, or have the wool pulled over your eyes. You don't want to be hoodwinked. You don't want to be taken for a ride! Railroaded!" With that, the hobo tossed the rest of the 'joe' into the fire, extinguishing it with a cloud of steam. He then emerged from the small cloud and grinned at Noah, "Seeing is believing, am I right?" He said.

"But what about this train?" Noah asked. If this man knew anything, Noah wanted to know.

"What about it?" The man asked, keeping his grin.

"Apparently we're all going to the North Pole…aren't we?" he asked, unsure. The hobo leaned in,

"Aren't we?" He repeated Noah's question.

"Are you saying, that this is all just a dream?" Noah asked, confused.

"You said it kid! Not me." The hobo said, poking Noah in the ribs and smiling. He then took a swig of the last cup of 'joe' and looked at Noah excitedly, "So, let's go find that girl!" Then, he turned away from Noah and began walking down the train. He took a few steps before turning back to Noah and approaching him slowly, "One other thing…do you believe in ghosts?" he asked. Noah snickered,

"Of course not." The hobo frowned and nodded,

"Interesting." He said before walking off again. This time, he did not wait for Noah. Before long, he too disappeared into the cloud of snow.

"Wait! Wait! What is wrong with you people! You're all crazy!" Noah shouted as he pressed onward, after the hobo. The snow seemed to press even harder as he chased after the hobo. His steps started feeling weighted down. He slowed down to a walk, and eventually fell to his knees in the ice cold snow. Noah remembered how the hobo had said this was a dream, "I have to wake up!" Noah said. "Yeah, I have to wake up! Wake up! Wake up! WAKE UP!" Noah told himself as he pinched his arm. Unfortunately, nothing happened. He then threw snow over his face and buried his head in the snow, in an attempt to wake himself up, and find that he was still in his room. "WAKE UP!" He repeated to himself. He removed his head from the snow, and blew off the snow that was caked on his face.

"KIIIIIIIIIDDDD! Kid get your head out of the clouds!" He heard a voice say. Noah opened his eyes and saw another light approaching him. As it neared, he was able to make out the figure. It was the hobo again, and he was sporting a pair of skis and sticks. "Wake up kid! There's no sleepwalking on the Polar Express!" He heard the hobo yell. "We gotta jump them knuckles." Noah looked up at him dumbfounded.

"C'mon kid, up on my shoulders. Grab my hand." The hobo said holding out his hand. Noah grabbed hold of his hand, and with a mighty pull, Noah was sent on top of the hobo's shoulders, like a piggy back ride. "That girl you're chasing must have moved up on ahead. We gotta hightail it to the hog, pronto!" The hobo said. Noah was confused.

"The hog?"

"The engine. The engine you tenderfoot." The hobo explained. "We gotta get to the engine before we hit flattop tunnel."

"Why is that?" Even Noah knew that was a stupid question when he asked it, but he did anyway.

"There happens to be only one inch of clearance, between this rattler, and the roof of that tunnel. Savvy?" The hobo told Noah. Noah wasn't paying attention, however, for he was too concerned over what lay before him. He saw the train start climbing a short hill. "Hold on! This should be interesting!" The hobo said and made a 'V' form with his skis to stop him from falling off the train too quickly. Slowly, the duo began sliding back towards the end of the train. 'Oh my gosh we're gonna fall off!' Noah thought frantically and clutched onto the hobo's head. "Hey! Watch it kid I can't see!" The hobo said as they began falling back towards the end of the caboose. Luckily, the hobo latched onto a nearby railing with his pole-stick, and held onto that.

Noah wasn't so lucky.

Noah felt himself fly from the hobo's grasp as he was jerked off his back. Flying in the air, Noah grabbed at anything he could to prevent himself from falling off the train. He felt his hands hit the railing that outlined the end of the caboose, and he held on for dear life, while screaming his head off. On top, the hobo was trying to regain his balance as he swayed to and fro. Luckily for the two of them, the train had climbed the small hill and was beginning its decent down a much larger drop (not too steep mind you).

"Quick! Climb on kid! Grab my pole!" The hobo said handing Noah the metal pole. Noah grabbed onto it and felt himself get lifted into the air. He landed safely in front of the hobo, and onto the set of skis. Using the sudden slope, the hobo began skiing down the train car's top, using it as some sort of ski track. One by one, the pair hopped over the train cars, getting ever so close to the engine. The train was relentless and did not stop or slow down. It's cold, black, metal wheels slid on the slippery metal tracks as it neared the tunnel. They didn't have much time. The tunnel was getting nearer and nearer. They were three cars away now, now two. They were so close!

Up ahead, Noah could see the entrance to Flattop Tunnel. It was covered in icicles and almost had the resemblance of an evil looking face. The train's light now flashed upon the tunnel, signaling how close it was to the tunnel.

"There's only one trick to this kid." The hobo said. They were getting even closer! It was only a matter of seconds before the hit the tunnel! "When I say you jump…" The hobo began. The train hit the icicles, shattering them into millions of pieces. Noah was scared!

"You jump!" The hobo yelled. Noah felt him disappear, and looked behind him for a millisecond. He wasn't there! Noah didn't have time to dwell on this matter, however, and he jumped off just as the hobo said. Darkness enveloped him as he felt himself land on a pile of coal. He had made it. He had landed successfully into the locomotive's engine.

**Ok, well I know it's a little shorter, but I've divided this story into parts, as you can see, so this is where I end this chapter. Till next time (aka probably tomorrow)!**


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